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Public Services Report Agenda Item 8C _____________________________________ DATE: March 4, 2021 TO: Library Board, Pima County Public Library Pima County Board of Supervisors Pima County Administration Friends of the Pima County Public Library, Board of Directors Friends of the Arivaca Library, Board of Directors Friends of the Esmond Station Library, Board of Directors Friends of the Kirk-Bear Canyon Library, Board of Directors Friends of the Oro Valley Public Library, Board of Directors Friends of the Pima-Green Valley Library, Board of Directors Pima Library Foundation, Board of Directors FROM: Karyn Prechtel-Altman Deputy Library Director SUBJECT: Public Services and Community Engagement Report – February 2020 Pima County Public Library is now providing outdoor services to the greater Vail community at the W. Anne Gibson-Esmond Station Library. As I noted in this interview to Arizona Public Media https://www.azpm.org/p/home-articles-news/2021/2/18/189648-vail-area-gets-pima- county-public-library-branch/ , the greater Vail community has been pining for a library for decades and the W. Anne Gibson-Esmond Station Library does not disappoint! Beautiful wall- to-wall windows with stained glass and a view to the mountains are is of the many attributes of this new library. The 2021 Tucson Festival of Books will be held virtually on Saturday and Sunday, March 6 and 7. PCPL’s Nuestras Raíces Team has put together an incredible lineup of 15 authors at eight unique events including Viva Frida! Celebrating Frida Kahlo with authors Kathy Cano-Murillo and Arianna Davis, and It Take a Pueblo with Authors Lydia Otero and Alberto Rios. Be sure to read the Santa Rosa Library’s report this month because it is a perfect illustration of our awesome library staff meeting community needs even while their library is officially closed and they are working at another library! Library Services Manager - Sharla Ronstadt During this period, I assisted the new W. Anne Gibson-Esmond Station Library Manager providing support for the opening of the library. The library opened on Tuesday, February 16 with curbside services. In addition, I assisted administration and branch managers in planning conversations to determine branches that will be shifting to a Tuesday-Saturday schedule. I continued to manage staffing information spreadsheets and collecting updates from managers. This information assisted me in coordinating and shifting Substitute Librarians to libraries based on staffing need. I provided support and coaching to new managers and participated in the New Manager Training meetings. I started attending branch staff meetings to provide information and answer questions. This month I met with staff from Oro Valley Public Library, Wheeler Taft Abbett Sr. Library, Flowing Wells Library and the Miller-Golf Links Library. Library Deputy Director’s Report – Public Services Page 2 March 2020 Library Services Manager - Amy Rusk In honor of Black History Month, I attended two webinars through the Arizona State Museum: on February 9, Tucson’s Black Community and School Segregation, and on Feb 16, and The Spirit of Spirituals: Famous and Stirring Songs of Faith, and their Stories. Both were informative and very enjoyable. The Kindred Team has been sharing countless poems by Black authors through email; and on Friday, the team tuned into KXCI after work for a guest DJ session with Erika Gault, Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Arizona, for Our Mother’s Gardens: Surrogacy in the life of Mahalia Jackson, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Breonna Taylor. This month, I also learned more about Lunar New Year and The Day of Remembrance from the Biblio Lotus team’s blogs posted on the library’s Diverse Voices page on our website. Every day is filled with online meetings with staff, so I am constantly reminded of how fortunate I am to get to work with such thoughtful and engaged people! Program Manager for Workforce and Economic Development – Ken Zambos Pima County Library’s Career Online High School staff is working on creating their first virtual graduation celebration! This month, 12 out of 25 graduates from the year 2020 participated in the first part of the planned celebration. Students set up individual appointments to pick up a graduation gift bag outside of Joel D. Valdez Main Library. The gift bag included a cap and gown and a career book, among other celebratory items. Our proud graduates were also given the opportunity to get their photo taken by a Career Online High School staff member with a congratulatory backdrop. The photos taken at this event will be shared during the second part of our celebration—a final graduation video that will be posted on Pima County Public Library’s website. Graduates will have the opportunity to submit contributions to this video in the form of letters, photos, and/or video recordings of them talking about their experience in the program. Graduates expressed their excitement and gratitude to staff during the gift bag event for the library’s contribution in finishing their high school education. Some students brought their diplomas to share with staff, and others wore their cap and gown in the pictures taken to demonstrate their pride at their incredible accomplishment. The Career Online High School program expects more positivity as they continue the graduation celebration plans and welcome new students along the way. GED programs in both English and Spanish continued throughout the month of February, supporting adult learners in their pursuit of their high school equivalency diploma. Job Help programs also continued throughout the month in both English and Spanish, providing assistance with resume writing, completing online applications, and interview preparation for job seekers. District 1 – Supervisor Rex Scott Dewhirst–Catalina Library – Christine Dykgraaf Dewhirst Catalina Library continues to grow its patron’s base. Staff issue new library cards on average one-four a week and are eager to list the many services the library provides regarding materials, online resources, and entertainment despite Covid-19 restrictions. As many times a week staff receive comments such as “Thank you for all you do, you are keeping me sane!” or “I am just so happy to come here and get more books. You all are golden.” That does much to lift the spirits of the staff. During closure to the public, Dewhirst-Catalina Library staff have been able to conduct a deep cleaning and organizing of office materials, workspaces, and supplies. The collections themselves have never looked better for staff having the time to look over condition and do Library Deputy Director’s Report – Public Services Page 3 March 2020 basic maintenance on heavily used but adored items. Several staff are now participating on virtual programing teams and so are helping patrons much further afield than in the past. Dusenberry-River Library – Matías Torres Holds pickup at the door and curbside continues at Dusenberry-River Library. We continue to encounter patrons incredibly grateful for the convenience of being able to patronize their local branch. Valet services with printing, copying and faxing remains steady with staff interceding with technology instruction when necessary. Dusenberry-River staff remains committed to library services. Librarians curated comprehensive displays for Black History Month to go alongside book bundles and craft kits. Library staff diligently handled an increase in book traffic following expiration of system wide extended due dates. Ahead of moderating author interview at Tucson Festival of Books, Young Adult Librarian participated in training session on best practices in overseeing teen volunteer interviewers. Oro Valley Public Library – Pam Park As the cooler weather brings in more winter visitors, Oro Valley is seeing an uptick in new library card sign ups and a higher number of checkouts. Curbside service is at a very high volume with patrons eagerly waiting every morning to pick up their holds. Oro Valley is circulating on average 575 items daily. Children’s Book Bundles remain popular. This month Oro Valley Library began handing out AARP tax packets to patrons. There has been a brisk interest in this form of tax help as well as the information we’ve provided about the United Way’s VITA tax assistance. Patrons who have been accustomed to in-person tax help at the library have expressed gratitude for this service. Virtual programming at the branch continues with the Sonoran Sleuths book club, which has consistently high attendance with 20-22 people attending each monthly meeting. Various staff are involved in system-wide and countywide teams such as online reader’s advisory, the Seed Library and a County program to address diabetes. The annual building walkthrough with Pima County and Town of Oro Valley takes place in February to evaluate the condition of the facility. Wheeler Taft Abbett, Sr. Library – Meggin Kitterman Despite the closed doors, staff at Wheeler Taft Abbett, Sr. Library continued to connect customers to valuable community and library services. Handing out AARP tax packets, printing tax forms and distributing VITA tax service flyers ensured customers knew about free tax help offered by community partners. Staff answered calls on the vaccine registration line to help customers without internet or computers get in line for a vaccination. Educators and families sustained learning at home and school with library books, Grab and Go activities and information about the Learn at Home page of the PCPL website. Customers continue to voice appreciation for staff and the library saying, “we couldn’t survive without you” and “of all the places that have closed, I miss the library the most.” One grateful customer was so excited to be able to pick up seeds from the seed library that she wants to donate masks to library staff. After Wheeler Taft Abbett, Sr. Library staff redesigned the workflow to improve customer service, a customer commented on the improvements “It was awesome, and as soon as I arrived I was greeted by a very friendly staff member who came to the window.
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